39 Indians Taken Prisoner By ISIS Are Alive, Confirms MEA

ANI

ILYAS AKENGIN via Getty Images

Armed Kurdish militants of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) stand behind a barricade of concrete blocks during clashes with Turkish forces on September 28, 2015, at Bismil, in Diyarbakir. Ankara launched a major 'anti-terrorist' campaign against the PKK in late July, aimed at flushing it out of its strongholds in southeastern Turkey and northern Iraq. AFP PHOTO / ILYAS AKENGIN (Photo credit should read ILYAS AKENGIN/AFP/Getty Images)

NEW YORK -- The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) today confirmed that the 39 Indians, who have been taken as prisoners in Iraq, are still alive and said that the government would do the necessary to secure their release after gathering more information.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his meeting today with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas discussed about the condition of the Indians taken as prisoners in Iraq and Libya.

"The Prime Minister asked the President to share with him any information he had regarding the condition of the Indians, to which the President replied saying that any information regarding this matter has constantly been transferred between India and Palestine and as soon as they receive any new information regarding the prisoners, they will let us know," MEA official spokesperson Vikas Swarup told the media here.

According to President Abbas, all the captive Indians taken as prisoners are alive so far.

In Iraq, a group of 39 Indian construction workers have been held captive by Islamic State in Mosul for more than a year, despite attempts by the Indian Government to secure their release.

Earlier, four Indians had been detained near the Libyan coastal city of Sirte, an area that is under the control of Islamic State militants.